Tomorrow Colorado voters will determine the fate of Amendment 62, a ballot initiative with serious implications for women’s reproductive health and freedom. If passed, the amendment, which is sponsored by Colorado Right to Life and PersonhoodUSA, would extend the definition of personhood as provided in Colorado’s state constitution to encompass every stage of fetal development, beginning with fertilization. Specifically, the proposed amendment reads: “The term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.”

According to Personhood Colorado’s website, the amendment is intended to ban abortion, certain contraceptives (i.e. birth control pills, rings, and patches; IUDs; emergency contraceptive pills; etc.), and embryonic stem cell research, as well as “reform” existing in vitro fertilization practices.

Obviously, the intent of the [amendment] is to defeat the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which defined a fetus as a person once it entered a pregnancy’s third trimester. That definition prevents states from arguing that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows them to outlaw abortion.

By this same reasoning, the amendment also provides grounds for banning types of contraceptives, based on the controversial claim that birth control options, such as the pill, can prevent an embryo’s implementation in the uterine wall. Ultimately, Amendment 62 would prevent women from exercising control over their reproductive choices and health by banning certain types of contraceptives, prohibiting all abortions, and limiting those who wish to have children through restrictions on in vitro fertilization.

Aside from the ballot initiative’s explicit intentions, many problematic and unintended consequences could result from the amendment, if passed. Advocates of reproductive justice point out that, under the amendment, abortions and the use certain contraceptives could be tantamount to and prosecuted as murder. Women and their medical practitioners also could be held accountable for any miscarriages and/or complications during pregnancy.

Theamendment’s supporters deny that such possibilities are the intention of the provision, yet they fail to acknowledge that they will no longer have control of how the broad framework provided by this amendment will be used if and when it is passed.Furthermore, the assumption of fetal personhood could prevent medical practitioners from taking the steps necessary to preserve a pregnant woman’s health and/or life. David Thielen, of thewebsite “Your Colorado Ballot Initiatives Reference,” writes:

[Amendment 62] will limit the ability of individuals to make private, personal choices about their lives and health. The measure will limit access to abortions and to prohibit medical care, including emergency contraception, commonly used forms of birth control, and treatments for cancer, tubal pregnancies, and infertility…This allows government interference in the doctor-patient relationship and could limit the exercise of independent medical judgment.

The proposed amendment threatens reproductive freedom and endangers women’s lives. Colorado is one of the many states in the US with a significant (and growing) Latina population. This amendment would have devastating effects on Latinas in Colorado.

Amendment 62 is just one more reason to vote in Tuesday’s election. Voters in Colorado will have the opportunity to directly determine whether or not this problematic policy is passed; voters everywhere will influence the future of reproductive freedom and our country as a whole. Remember, women’s lives are at stake.